


much mistletoeing

by atlantisairlock



Category: Military Wives (2020)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, First Kiss, Future Fic, Mistletoe, Pre-Relationship, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/pseuds/atlantisairlock
Summary: Kate and Lisa on Christmas Eve with the choir ft. mistletoe and barbecues.
Relationships: Kate Barkley/Lisa Lawson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	much mistletoeing

**Author's Note:**

> yes i somehow tricked myself into writing another fluff fic. who have i become. i blame ensorcel and also christmas.
> 
> title from 'it's the most wonderful time of the year' by andy williams.

It's cold out today. Kate pulls her coat tighter around herself when she gets out of Lisa's car, shivering as the wind buffets against her. It usually doesn't get this cold around the garrison, and when it does, she stays indoors. But it's Christmas Eve, and Sarah's all but pleaded with the choir to attend her housewarming, and Kate couldn't find it in herself to say no. It's been a year since the Albert Hall and they don't see Sarah as much any more, now that she lives off the base, and life is short. Kate knows that better than most. Whatever chances she has to spend with the people she cares about, she should take. 

Dave's at the mechanics so Lisa offered to drive down with her after dropping Frankie off at a friend's. She slams her door shut and locks the car, joining Kate as they stride up the path to Sarah's new place. "It looks nice," she muses, cupping her hands over her mouth and exhaling to warm them up. Her cheeks are a little flushed as she grins at Kate. "Small and cozy. It's got personality."

"I like it," Kate agrees as she rings the doorbell. "It suits her." Moreso than the cookie-cutter houses on the base. It's good to see Sarah moving on, moving forward. It's comforting to see the real joy and excitement in Sarah's smile when she pulls the door open to greet them. "Kate! Lisa! You're finally here. You're the last ones! Come in, we want to start the barbecue and everything."

"It's good to see you," Kate begins as they both step past the threshold, only to be drowned out by some frankly undignified whooping and hollering as she and Lisa enter the house. Lisa looks startled, hands dropping to her side from where she was reaching up to unwind her scarf. "Um, what?"

Sarah's grin is mischievous and delighted as she points up at the doorway; Kate and Lisa both follow her gaze to the mistletoe hanging above their heads. Kate can feel Lisa heave a sigh. "Oh my God. _Really."_

"She tricked me and Jess into it too," Annie calls from where she's seated on Sarah's couch. The rest of the wives are crammed into the living room in various states of contortion, looking comfortable and far too pleased about the fact that both Kate and Lisa are under the mistletoe. "It's everywhere in the house," Ruby adds. "You best be careful where you're stepping."

"You're devious, Sarah Cartwright," says Lisa. She sounds more amused than anything, and when she turns to meet Kate's gaze her eyes are bright. "Well, it is Christmas Eve. Kate?"

"It's Christmas Eve," Kate agrees. She leans in and Lisa meets her halfway, pressing their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss. She can taste a hint of Lisa's lip gloss, sweet cherry, can feel Lisa's soft exhale when they pull apart after just a second too long. It's lovely, it's sweet, and she probably shouldn't, but Kate wants more. Lisa's smiling, a warmth to her eyes that wasn't there before; Kate wonders if she could get away with pushing closer and kissing her just one more time.

They're not alone, though, and when the choir lets out a resounding cheer of approval, the moment slips away. Lisa laughs and rolls her eyes and starts shrugging out of her coat, Sarah reaching for it and for Kate's as well. "I'll go put these away - you can join the others. Get a drink, I'll start the barbecue in a few!" 

"I love a good barbecue, but isn't it a nip too cold to be outside?" Lisa says, settling down beside Jess and Maz and taking the beer Maz offers her. "Was freezing my arse off just walking from the car to the front door."

"Sarah's got this gigantic grill installed out back. Practically takes up half the backyard. I think it'll be enough to keep us from freezing. Anyway... there are other ways for you to keep warm, if _that_ was anything to go by." Ruby waggles her eyebrows at Lisa and at Kate in succession, and Lisa laughs breezily, giving her a friendly shove. "Piss off, Ruby. Did Sarah really put mistletoe everywhere? How many times have you lot had to kiss each other?"

"Oh, it's in _all_ the doorways, even the bloody bathroom," Beatrice moans. "I've had to reapply my lipstick three times. The house is too small to avoid walking under it with someone at the best of times." 

"It's _fun,"_ Sarah insists, rejoining them in the living room. "I never said you all had to proper kiss and all that. Dawn's been kissing people on the cheek all evening. Come on, let's go out back - Helen, can you grab the lighter for me, I've got all the food in my arms - "

"Dawn's been _what?_ Dawn, that's cheating - "

Their chatter is so familiar now, washing over Kate like comforting white noise as they all start traipsing into Sarah's backyard. A year now and she knows them all by name, knows them as people, would call the choir her best friends in the world. These are the people whom she loves and who love her. She's happy here, come what may. Kate absent-mindedly follows on into the backyard, only to be stopped right before she steps onto the porch with a hand on her arm. She looks back at Lisa, who's grinning at her and nodding up at the doorframe. "Looks like it's more mistletoe."

Kate gives her a look. "None of the other women even noticed it. It doesn't count."

"So we'll remind them after we get out there and make them all do it to make up for it. Come on." She gives Kate a little wink that makes Kate have to fight the urge to smile. "Christmas Eve, right?"

"You're annoying," Kate says, without any bite to the words. She tips her head up and brushes another gentle kiss to Lisa's lips; she feels Lisa smile into it. She doesn't linger in it the way she did with the kiss in the front doorway, but the softness in Lisa's eyes is the same. Kate plucks at her sleeve and turns out of the door, pulling Lisa with her. "Let's go join our choir."

They sit around the grill, letting the charcoal heat up while they skewer meat and veg in whatever combinations they want to cook over the fire. It's still cold and the sky is dark but Kate doesn't really feel it, not with the fire going and with so many people in the backyard, talking and laughing at the tops of their voices. Lisa's telling a childhood story about Frankie that would probably have Frankie stomping on her foot in a desperate attempt to get her to shut up if she were there. Annie and Jess are listening and laughing along as Lisa remains completely engrossed in the telling of it, but she has one arm around Kate's waist and doesn't let go. Kate nibbles contentedly on her sausage and halloumi, just enjoying the atmosphere. Good food cooked on the grill by Sarah and Ruby, who are currently arguing over the best way to cook potatoes on a barbecue, and a nice glass of white wine in hand, and her friends beside her. What more could she ask for on Christmas Eve?

"You want anything else? I'm going to get more food," says Lisa, interrupting Kate's train of thought. Her voice is low, speaking right into Kate's ear over the noise in the backyard, and Kate shivers from the warmth against her cheek, the closeness. Lisa notices, tightening her grip around Kate's hip and bringing them shoulder to shoulder. "Are you cold? I can get you hot cider, Sarah's got some by the grill."

Kate shakes her head in answer and smiles; Lisa smiles back. "Sure you don't want anything else to eat? I'll get you some corn?"

"That'll be nice. Thanks."

Lisa stands and goes to the grill, and Kate feels the loss of a warm body pressed to her side almost acutely. She takes another sip of wine to shake it off and finds Annie and Jess giving her odd, knowing smiles. "What?"

"You two are close," says Annie. "It's nice to watch."

"Especially compared to last year, when half the time it looked like you were ready to bite Lisa's head off," Jess adds, making Kate blush. They really _were_ at each other's throats in the choir's infancy and she's not proud of it, of course. She understands why they clashed at first but it all seems so silly now, especially when Lisa is probably the person she's closest to in the choir. She's so important to Kate, in more ways than one. 

They're both still married to other people, but Kate knows they've spent the past year circling something unnamed, falling into each other's orbits. Kate was the first one - the only one - Lisa talked to about the distance growing between her and Red, their discussions about an amicable separation in their future. Kate thinks something similar has been a long time coming with her and Richard, exacerbated by Jamie's death and everything after, though they haven't talked about it. He knows, though, the 'good enough' comfort they're settling into, so different from the pair they were decades ago when they first got married. There's something else growing in Kate's life, something she never expected after twenty years of marriage and a child, but it's something good, something she wants to nurture, to see blossom. 

Lisa returns with a full plate for Kate, stacked high with perfectly grilled food, falls back into easy conversation with the other women around them. Kate leans her head very slightly against her shoulder and eats, listens, enjoys the warmth. This is her first proper Christmas with Lisa, and with their friends; she knows it won't be the last, and she's looking forward to it.

The time seems to melt pass, everyone happy and cheerful and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Sarah has some Christmas music playing and Jess eventually starts singing along to It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, and everyone slowly joins in. It's beautiful to listen to; the choir has come a really, really long way. Kate doesn't think any of them would recognise the group of women they were a year ago, in the Flitcroft welfare centre, uncertainly attempting count singing and going off-key. It's something incredible.

She leaves them to it, slipping quietly through the back door into Sarah's kitchen to pour herself another glass of wine. The singing is muffled through the walls but there's a distant note to it that gives it a lovely, dreamlike quality. Kate leans against the kitchen counter with full glass in hand, just enjoying it for a moment.

She opens her eyes again when she hears faint noise and finds Lisa in the kitchen with her, smiling as she gets another beer from Sarah's fridge. Kate straightens up as Lisa closes the fridge and turns to face her, standing so close there's barely any space between them. "Hi," she says softly. She glances quickly at her watch and shows the face to Kate. Five past midnight. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Kate echoes. Lisa's hands are cold where she takes Kate's in them, her cheeks too, but her mouth is warm and wet and sweet against Kate's. She presses Kate against the counter, just slightly, as she deepens the kiss, and Kate sighs into it, feeling a glow inside her, tingling in her fingertips, a comfortable weight in her core. The choir is still singing outside, just past the back door, and the kitchen is cozily heated and Lisa doesn't let go of her hands even when they part from the kiss. Kate smiles at her, feeling brave, feeling safe, feeling happy. "I don't see any mistletoe in the kitchen," she teases, and Lisa laughs softly. "Nope. I just wanted to kiss you," she murmurs. She's flushed, eyes sparkling, so beautiful. "Is that okay?"

Kate loops her arms around Lisa's neck, pulling her in for another kiss - slow, unhurried, perfect. Drinks and barbecue and the rest of the world forgotten as she lets herself indulge in the best Christmas gift she could possibly ask for. Kissing the woman she loves and being kissed back, on the most wonderful day of the year. 


End file.
